Palladium Books® Weekly Update – Jan. 11, 2018

By Kevin Siembieda

One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

The New Year is off to a crazy start for Palladium as we explore a wide range of opportunities and hustle to get material done for them as well as new books finished and to the printer. This week The Rifter® #79 is back from the printer and has already shipped out to subscribers. Every day, Rifts® Sovietski gets closer to completion, as do other titles being prepped and worked on simultaneously.

Last weekend to order a Christmas Surprise Package – offer ENDS January 15, 2018

$95-$100 worth of Palladium Books product (sometimes more!) for $45 plus shipping and handling. And we’ll sign every book if you’d like autographs.

Treat yourself to an extravaganza of RPG fun.

Fill holes in your collection.

Try new game settings.

Get caught up on The Rifter®. Many issues are close to selling out.

Replace battered old books.

Get autographs from Kevin Siembieda and available Palladium staff.

Get gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, graduation, and other gift-giving occasions coming up over the next few months. Whatever the reason, order soon, because this offer is almost over.

Offer ends January 15, 2018.

We extend the offer after Christmas because we realize many of you don’t have the funds to get yourself one during the holiday season or you’re just too busy or a Johnny Come-Lately. Whatever the case, the Surprise Package offer is over at midnight on Monday. If you have never tried one, start the New Year off right by getting yourself or a fellow gamer one before it is too late. Game on!

Click here to get all the details or to place a Surprise Package order.

The Digital Christmas Surprise Package is an experiment proposed by Palladium’s business manager, Scott Gibbons. The verdict is still out as to whether or not we will do it again next Christmas, so this may truly be your last chance to get one.

It works very much like our traditional Christmas Surprise Package, except for $24.99 you get a minimum of $50 (usually $60 or more) worth of Palladium PDF books (and digital products like Game Master Kits, Primers, maps, paper miniatures, etc.). That’s right, $50-$60+ worth of PDF titles and digital products for only $24.99 during this holiday special.

Ordering a Palladium “Digital” Christmas Surprise Package is easy. You place your order online at the Palladium website just like you would any order in our online store. We accept ALL major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover). You may also order by telephone (734-721-2903; order line only).

If the title is available from DriveThruRPG, you can request it in your Digital Christmas Surprise Package. The cost is $24.99 for $50-$60 or more of great PDFs of Palladium games, sourcebooks, maps and other digital products.

Make sure you give us your entire, correct email address, and double check it to make sure it is accurate. A link will be e-mailed to that address within five business days of placing your order. When you click on the link you will be taken to a shopping cart on DriveThruRPG’s website, with the PDFs from your Surprise Package already entered into your shopping cart and the price set to zero. Simply click the red Check Out button to get your PDF titles via this special offer.

If you do not have an account with DriveThruRPG it’s not a problem – when you click the Red Check Out button you will be prompted to make a FREE DriveThru account. The process is quick and easy, and will get you started on building your very own PDF library.

For those of you outside the USA, this Digital Christmas Surprise Package is a fantastic way to get PDF books to circumvent the high shipping costs from the US.

Click here to place your “Digital” Christmas Surprise Package order. Avoid the holiday crowds and order one or more Digital Surprise Packages today.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #79 – Available now

The Rifter® #79 arrived in the Palladium warehouse Wednesday and is already on its way to subscribers and shipping out to distributors. It is another fun and expansive gaming resource packed with ideas and source material for your games. And remember, you can easily adapt many adventure ideas, monsters, villains, places, weapons, and gear to most any of Palladium’s game worlds.

The Rifter® #79 includes new and alternative methods, rules and approaches to creating epic adventure. Role-playing games are flexible expressions of your imagination and all about bringing ideas to life. This issue provides optional, alternative rules and ideas to do just that. It includes the Kingdom of New Oslo, a nice companion to the soon to be released Rifts® Sovietski; putting modern characters in different time periods throughout history (can you picture that BTS psychic, Nightbane or superhero on a Victorian pirate ship or fighting for the Roman Empire?); plus a closer look at the Heroes Unlimited™ Stage Magician, more alternative RPG ideas by Julius Rosenstein, and more.

New! World Book 36: Rifts® Sovietski™ – ships February

The artwork is all done (has been for a while) and I think I only have four out of the 16 text files left for final edits and writing tweaks – O.C.C.s which I’m working on now, new Cyborgs, new Combat Vehicles, and new Weapons and Gear. And I’m happy to say I’ve been having a productive week editing and writing.

I think you’ll love Rifts® Sovietski™ with its new O.C.C.s and D-Bees, background, notable places, increasing conflicts with the Brodkil and other dangers (not to mention the coming of the Minion War), and wealth of new weapons, cyborgs, and machines of war. Rifts® Sovietski™ really pulls together the previous two Russia World Books, Warlords of Russia and Mystic Russia, plus Mindwerks (Poland and a slew of D-Bees, monsters and adventure hooks) and the two Rifts® Triax books. The frosting on the cake for me, at least, is that Rifts® Sovietski™ creates the proper atmosphere and culture that brings Russia and that part of the world to life.

The Rifts® Sovietski™ World Book delves into the new Soviet Nation, key places, people, O.C.C.s, combat vehicles, cyborgs and weapons, and has everything you’d expect from a book like this. There is a wealth of information that will set your imagination on fire, new characters, new D-Bees, new weapons, vehicles and adventure hooks. There is the looming threat of General Goll’s invasion of the Brodkil sent by Mindwerks’ Angel of Death and Angel of Vengeance, treachery among the Warlords of Russia, and the coming of the Minion War. Learn about how the Sovietski came into being, its people’s dreams, beliefs, politics, and its growing army, plus Deadzones, Spetsnaz Special Forces, new bionics, and more.

UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary™: North America, Vol. One and Two

Gathering and formatting the existing beasts from all the current World Books and Sourcebooks has been completed. As soon as Rifts Sovietski goes to the printer (next week?), I dive into the final edits for both volumes, write-up the dozen or so new creatures, and send them off to the printer.

These are just the first two of what we hope to be a series of sourcebooks that collect all the notable monsters, dinosaurs and creepy crawlers of Rifts® Earth. The focus of the Rifts® Bestiary™: North America, Volume One and Volume Two being creatures of North America (US, Canada and Mexico). Presented in alphabetical order, with maps showing their range and location, in two big books. On track for Winter releases.

Two NEW titles on DriveThruRPG.com – The Rifter® #74 and Dead Reign® Sourcebook: Hell Followed™

New this week: The Rifter® #74 with source material for Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited, Splicers®, the Rifts® town of Moorcroft, Rifts® town of Karimyo, the Ancient Master and more. Much of it “official” source material. And Hell Followed™ an epic, 160 page sourcebook for Dead Reign® featuring masked lunatics – some good, some bad, some just crazy, 11 new zombies, 7 apocalyptic character classes, 23 disasters (blizzard, earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, toxic spills, etc.), and more.

The Rifter® #1-74. Each issue is a wealth of source material and ideas for several game lines, but most material can be easily adapted to ANY Palladium game world. Each issue a gem.

Splicers® RPG is like Iron Man meets Game of Thrones with elements of Terminator – except this army of Iron Men are clad in living body armor and wield living, organic weapons and devices. Created in 2004 by writer and game designer Carmen Bellaire, Splicers® was nominated for an Inquest Gamer Magazine Fan Awards Game of the Year, and has since developed a rabid fan base. Science fiction and horror where humans are forced to use genetically engineered, living weapons and organic war machines to battle an insane Artificial Intelligence and her robot legions. Unlike anything you have ever played before!

Palladium Fantasy RPG® first edition rule book and sourcebooks. 2nd edition sourcebooks to come. Not your father’s fantasy RPG, this is a unique world of magic, monsters and heroes. Many nonhuman player characters and 50,000 years of history.

Dead Reign® (Zombie Apocalypse) and sourcebooks. The dead have risen. It is the battle for survival in the zombie apocalypse, but this setting is much more than your typical zombie game. Play ordinary people or special characters better equipped to survive and hunt zombies. Many unusual types of zombies.

Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG. Supernatural horror in the modern world. Play ordinary people, psychics or paranormal investigators.

After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks. Planet of the Apes meets the X-Men! Animal creations, powers and more. Create any type of intelligent mutant animal you can imagine as friend or foe.

Alex and I continue to add Star Wars toys and a growing number of all kinds of collectibles – and we’ll be adding more Palladium Books original art and items to the store, so keep an eye out for them.

This includes one-of-a-kind original artwork, prints, Rifts® and Robotech® artwork by Kevin Long, me and others. There is also a range of limited editions, rare book titles and limited edition hardcovers, toys and more that are all being added to my online store over the next several weeks, so keep an eye out. Alex and I will keep adding items as our busy schedules allow, but we have a lot of fun collectibles available now and coming soon. Items include original art, out of print titles, redlined proofreader photocopies signed by me and the staff, signed manuscripts with editors’ corrections, some original art, hardcover books (including Rifts® Lemuria, Northern Gun™ One, Northern Gun™ Two, Megaverse® in Flames™, Beyond the Supernatural™ Gold, Rifts® Machinations of Doom™ Gold and Rifts® Ultimate Gold) and other items available. There are also hundreds of toys and action figures, all from my personal archives and collection. Take a look every weekend for new items added.

UPDATE: 2018 Palladium Open House – April 19-22

Writer Matthew Clements has confirmed he will be a guest at the 2018 Palladium Open House (POH), coming in from California. I can also confirm that Carl Gleba, James Brown, Brandon Aten, Julius Rosenstein, Carmen Bellaire, Jake Jakubowski, myself, of course, and many others will be running game events.

The POH is only 3 months away, so if you know you are going to attend, please order your admission tickets as soon as possible so we can make sure to have enough events to keep everyone busy all weekend long!

Game Masters planning on running events at the POH, PLEASE get us your game descriptions as soon as possible. Ideally by the end of January, so we can post a schedule of events in advance.

Game Masters who run three or more games get a FREE special G.M. T-shirt unveiled for the first time at the POH and a 30% Game Master Supreme Discount on Palladium’s RPG books, T-shirts and most other items. (Sorry, the discount does not apply to original art, limited editions, art prints, auction items and convention exclusive products). We need plenty of games to satisfy 250-300 gamers, so your help is very appreciated and welcomed.

We expect to have more than 100 gaming events and we need experienced Game Masters to run Palladium events for all of our game lines – Rifts®, Robotech®, Robotech® RPG Tactics™, Palladium Fantasy®, Heroes Unlimited™, Splicers®, Nightbane®, Dead Reign®, Beyond the Supernatural™, and all the rest! You can contact us by telephone (734-721-2903) or by email at palladium-gm{at}palladiumbooks.com as SOON as possible please. Thank you.

Logistics and Planning

This has been a good, if busy week. We shipped The Rifter® #79, I’ve been writing like crazy, and I’ve been coordinating with a number of people who are working hard on a vast number of projects from books and the Palladium Open House to RRT, conventions and licensing. Feeling very positive and full of ideas and high hopes as I write this. Please take advantage of the last few days to get one or more traditional or digital (PDF books) Surprise Packages and have a great weekend.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer, & Game Designer

Surprise Package comments from fans like you

Every year there is a section where the customer can offer comments and suggestions with his or her Surprise Package order. Every year, in acknowledgment of our fans, and because they are fun to read, we offer a sampling in the Weekly Updates. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who have stuck with Palladium through thick and thin. Keep those imaginations burning bright and game on.

You have no idea how much your comments and support mean to all of us. Everyone at Palladium enjoys reading your brief comments. They always brighten our day. Thank you. I have tried to write a short response [in brackets].

Click here to get all the details or to place a Surprise Package order.

W.F. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, writes: Thanks for the hard work on your books and info. A big thank you for putting your books up on DriveThruRPG.

[Glad to do it, W.F. We’ve been putting PDF books on DriveThruRPG for a good number of years now, as well as replacing low quality scans with better ones. It’s just now that most of the Palladium library is available as PDFs (200+ titles!) people are really starting to take notice. Enjoy. – Kevin]

J.G. in Clinton, North Carolina, writes (in part): Thanks to all for creating this amazing fantasy world. The level to which it was detailed when I was a kid was amazing. I’m really looking forward to see what’s new since then.

[Welcome back to gaming, J.B. I hope you and your son enjoy many adventures together. I hope you enjoyed the Surprise Package we sent you. Game on! – Kevin]

C.C. in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, writes: Out of all the gaming systems I’ve played, Rifts® by far has been my favorite. I love the freedom and space it allows for creativity.

[Awesome, C.C., that’s what role-playing is all about, creative freedom and unchecked imagination. Sounds like you are doing it right. Keep that imagination burning. – Kevin]

M.V. in Albany, Oregon, writes: Looking forward to more Fantasy [books]. Here we are again as another year is about to pass. As always, would like to wish Kevin and the crew a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I hope that the next year finds you wealthy with love from family, friends and the gaming community. I look forward to another year of great books and amazing stories.

[M.V., thank you so much for the wonderful New Year’s wish. I hope so too. May the New Year be full of wonder, good health and prosperity for you and yours. And many new Palladium titles to enjoy. – Kevin]

R.H. in Warrenton, Oregon, writes (in part): This is the second X-Mas Package I ordered this year. The first one was awesome.

[Thank you R.H., we try to make the holidays special for as many people as we can. Enjoy the Surprise Packages and thank you for your very kind words. – Kevin]

S.K. in Comox, British Columbia, Canada, writes: I have been a loyal fan for 30 years. From Junior High to University and through marriage, children, military rehabilitation from injuries and the long road to recovery, to where I am now, there have been few constants. Palladium’s games and the joy they bring me and my friends – and now my kids – is one of them. Keep it up! Merry Christmas!

[Thank you for your kind and humbling words, S.K., they mean a lot. I’m glad our games were a constant for you and have brought you and your friends and family so much fun. I feel the same way about our fans, who are always there with an encouraging word and a smile. You guys have gotten me through some tough times too. Keep that imagination burning bright and Merry Christmas to you and your family. – Kevin]

J.B. in Georgetown, Ohio, writes: I have to give you all a huge thanks right off the bat for making my college career more bearable with weekend game sessions that spanned cybernetic techs of Japan to the mystic Native Americans of the New West in Rifts®, which got me into table top RPGs in the first place. You all made my first and most loved games.

[Ahhhh shucks, J.B., you’re making us blush. We love you too. Thanks for the years of support and very generous praise. – Kevin]

W.M. in Somerville, Massachusetts, writes: I was big into Rifts® back in undergrad, but life and kids had caused me to drift away. While moving, I came across a copy of the Art of John Zeleznik. It really inspired me. In recent months I am back, buying new books and have introduced Rifts® to a number of novice role-players. Looking at that artwork really brought back my passion for the game.

B.C. in Amherst, Novia Scotia, Canada, writes (in part): Season’s Greetings to my favorite RPG manufacturer! Well this fall I had my gaming group bugging me to run a Rifts® Chaos Earth® campaign ... I don’t know what I can say that hasn’t been said already. Kevin, you and the family of Palladium have been part of my life since 1990, when I was first introduced to Rifts®. My G.M. only had the main book, Sourcebook One, Conversion Book One and Atlantis. We played for two years on the same campaign. It was the first time I ever played an RPG where I could care less about how fast I leveled up to get new abilities. The system, the atmosphere, and setting of the game had me hooked. I became a Palladium fan for life! ... I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from me and my family.

[Your heartfelt comments are humbling, B.C. I am truly delighted you have enjoyed our games all these years and continue to do so. Every game and sourcebook we produce is a product made with our heart and soul. The beauty of loving the business we’re in, our fans and the creative work we do. I have many exciting plans for Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited, Palladium Fantasy® and Splicers® that should continue to keep you hooked. I hope your Christmas was pleasant and joyful and a very happy New Year to you. – Kevin]

New! The Rifter® #79 – Available now

The Rifter® #79 is all about pushing the envelope, trying new things and alternative methods, rules and approaches to create epic adventure! Role-playing games are all about expressions of your imagination. Of making ideas, characters and stories come to life. RPGs are flexible. Malleable. Alive and changing. There is no one way to look at things because there are infinite possibilities. This issue of The Rifter® explores some of those new possibilities.

Rifter® #79 Highlights:

Gaming Through History – any game setting. Do not sell history short. There are epic events, battles and mysteries throughout history that would make amazing RPG campaigns. Create adventures that are, in effect, parts of our unknown history. Hendrik Härterich shows you how with a wonderful set of guidelines, rules and ideas for using characters from just about any modern RPG to create settings and adventures from Earth’s past. Suitable for use with any Palladium RPG.

Rifts® – The Kingdom of New Oslo™ by David Collins. Explore the European Northlands and face the would-be god of Hell Hounds and Fenry. A monster that calls itself Fenrik. Oslo overview, notable people and places, vehicles, gear, and adventure ideas.

New! World Book 36: Rifts® Sovietski™ – ships February

The Rifts® Sovietski™ World Book delves into the new Soviet Nation, key places, people, O.C.C.s, combat vehicles, cyborgs and weapons, and has everything you’d expect from a book like this. There is a wealth of information that will set your imagination on fire, new characters, new D-Bees, new weapons, vehicles and adventure hooks. There is the looming threat of General Goll’s invasion of the Brodkil sent by Mindwerks’ Angel of Death and Angel of Vengeance, treachery among the Warlords of Russia, and the coming of the Minion War. Learn about how the Sovietski came into being, its people’s dreams, beliefs, politics, and its growing army, plus Deadzones, Spetsnaz Special Forces, new bionics, and more.

It all ties in nicely with the Warlords of Russia™, Mystic Russia™, Rifts® Triax & the NGR, Triax Two, and the Mindwerks™ sourcebooks.

New! Rifts® Bestiary™: North America, Vol. One

A series of books that collects all the notable monsters, dinosaurs and creepy crawlers and creatures of Rifts® North America (US, Canada and Mexico) into two juicy volumes with a number of new creatures. Each volume includes maps and new creatures, large and small, to help or plague player characters. Between them, these two volumes compile all the beasts of Rifts North America (unintelligent monsters, predators, notable animals and intelligent beings that are monstrous or animal-like in appearance or behavior) from all current World Books and Sourcebooks. In addition, Kevin Siembieda, Chuck Walton and Greg Diaczyk are adding some new monsters to make life in the wilderness interesting. Presented in alphabetical order, with maps showing their range and location, in two big books.

Winter releases, both volumes are being worked on simultaneously, right now, so that Volume Two will quickly follow Volume One within 4-6 weeks. Other volumes, like a Bestiary of Spirits and the Supernatural, are likely to follow.

Future volumes will include spirits, ghosts and entities, another on dragons, other volumes on creatures in other parts of Rifts Earth, and so on.

Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized in two big, easy to use sourcebooks. Predators, exotic riding animals, beasts of burden, alien horrors, giant insects and more.

Some new creatures, but most are existing creatures.

Updated information where applicable.

Updated and uniform stat blocks.

A map for every creature showing where it is found.

Fully illustrated.

Art by Chuck Walton, Siembieda and many others.

192-224 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 896. In production. We are working hard for an end of February release.

New! Rifts® Bestiary™: North America, Vol. Two

More monsters and exotic animals of Rifts® North America as part of an ongoing series of Rifts® Bestiary sourcebooks. The first two Rifts® Bestiaries are being created simultaneously. Between them, these two volumes compile all the beasts of Rifts North America (unintelligent monsters, predators, notable animals and intelligent beings that are monstrous or animal-like in appearance or behavior) from all current World Books and Sourcebooks, plus some new monsters by Siembieda and Walton. Presented in alphabetical order, with maps showing their range and location, in two big books.

Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized in two big, easy to use sourcebooks. Predators, exotic riding animals, beasts of burden, alien horrors, giant insects and more.

UPDATE: Rifts® Living Nowhere™ – A Rifts® Sourcebook set in the Pecos Empire

This title has been rescheduled due to rewrites and is probably a spring release. It presents four interrelated towns off the beaten path in the Pecos Empire. Each with its own unique character and problems. All fun locations to visit and find adventure and trouble. Something dark and deadly is brewing in the middle of Nowhere, where experimental Techno-Wizard devices and weapons offer prosperity, but could be the doom of everyone living there. Big ideas. Building upon material that appeared in The Rifter®, expanded.

COMING! In the Face of Death™ – A Dead Reign® Sourcebook

This sourcebook is all about inner-city survival. Survivor colonies finding a way to live and prosper in the big city. Conventional wisdom says that living in the big population centers is impossible. These survivors prove otherwise.